Electronic copyright license repository

ABSTRACT

A content distribution system for transporting audio or video licenses between content players that use digital rights management (DRM) is disclosed. The content distribution system includes at least a second license repository and an authentication engine. The second license repository receives second information describing a second plurality of content licenses. A first license repository stores a first plurality of content licenses. The first plurality of content licenses enables use of a plurality of content objects with a first content player within confines of DRM. The second license repository is geographically distant from the first license repository. The authentication engine authorizes the second plurality of content licenses of the second license repository. The second plurality of content licenses enables use of the plurality of content objects with the second content player within the confines of DRM.

This application claims the benefit of and is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/253,873, filed on Oct. 5, 2011, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/375,931, filed onMar. 15, 2006, which is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/662,807 filed on Mar. 15, 2005, which are allhereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates in general to audio and video licensing and, butnot by way of limitation, to moving of licensed audio and video to newcomputing devices.

Today there are software players that play audio and video downloadedfrom the Internet or obtained through other sources. The availability ofdigital rights management (DRM) has made copyright holders morecomfortable with this new paradigm of licensing their audio and video indownloadable form. Different software players use different andincompatible DRM that slows adoption by consumers.

A consumer who downloads a song from one download service has to playthe song on the corresponding proprietary player. A DRM used by thecorresponding proprietary player ties a consumer to that player. Anotherplayer is unlikely to play the song as the DRM prevents this useinadvertently because it is incompatible with the DRM used by the newplayer. For example, a consumer may download a song from the Apple™music store for their iTunes™ player. Later, should the consumer decideto start using the Rhapsody™ Jukebox, the song would not play. Theconsumer may have to purchase the song again even though there arearguably rights to use the song with any player.

There are programs that disable or strip the DRM from a song such thatit can be used with most player. Some take the position that this typeof software is illegal and violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA) in the United States or some other law. Additionally, there areprograms that will transcode one codec into another. These programs takea song that might be in a proprietary format and convert it to a formatthat can be used in a new player. Between the DRM stripping software andthe transcoding software, consumers can move their music collection to anew player. This process is complex and, some might say, illegal.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a contentdistribution system for transporting audio or video licenses betweencontent players that use digital rights management (DRM). The contentdistribution system includes at least a second license repository and anauthentication engine. The second license repository receives secondinformation describing a second plurality of content licenses. A firstlicense repository stores a first plurality of content licenses. Thefirst plurality of content licenses enables use of a plurality ofcontent objects with a first content player within confines of DRM. Thesecond license repository is geographically distant from the firstlicense repository. The authentication engine authorizes the secondplurality of content licenses of the second license repository. Thesecond plurality of content licenses enables use of the plurality ofcontent objects with the second content player within the confines ofDRM.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method fortransporting content licenses from a first content player to a secondcontent player. In one step, a plurality of content licenses is readfrom a first repository of the first content player. The plurality ofcontent licenses enables use of a plurality of content objects withinconfines of DRM. The plurality of content licenses is associated with aplurality of licensors. The plurality of content licenses is sent to astore, which is geographically remote to the first repository.Authentication information of a licensee of the plurality contentlicenses is sent. The plurality of content licenses is written to asecond repository of the second content player. The second contentplayer can use the plurality of content objects within the confines ofDRM.

In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method fortransporting audio or video licenses between content players. In onestep, first information is received that describes a first plurality ofcontent licenses at a point. A first repository stores the firstplurality of content licenses. The first plurality of content licensesenables use of a plurality of content objects on a first content playeras allowed by DRM. The point is geographically remote to the firstrepository. A licensee of the first plurality content licenses isauthenticated. Second information is sent that enables a secondplurality of content licenses corresponding to the first plurality ofcontent licenses away from the point. The second plurality of contentlicenses is stored with a second repository of the second contentplayer. The second plurality of content licenses allows use of theplurality of content objects on the second content player as allowed byDRM.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating various embodiments, are intended for purposes ofillustration only and are not intended to necessarily limit the scope ofthe disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appendedfigures:

FIGS. 1A through 1G depict block diagrams of embodiments of a contentdistribution system; and

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate flowcharts of embodiments of a processfor migrating licensed content to a new content player.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only,and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configurationof the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferredexemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with anenabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment.It being understood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope asset forth in the appended claims.

There are many content download services available. Users downloadcontent (e.g., songs, software, videos, sound, books) to a computingdevice (e.g., personal computer, mobile phone, music player, personalvideo recorder, set top box, portable video player) for their enjoyment.To control access to these files, various forms of digital rightsmanagement (DRM) are used. The player hardware, software-based players,storage devices, and delivery channels may all have DRM to controlaccess and enforce copyright licenses. For example, Microsoft™ Windowshas DRM that controls access to music and video files.

Different applications and hardware control DRM in different manners,but generally store a list of copyright licenses for a particular fileor stream. An identifier code is either embedded in the content objector associated with the content object in some way. The DRM applicationprogram interface (API) is provided with the content object itself orthe identifier code in determining if a copyright license is available.Generally, where there is no copyright license, the DRM prevents orrestricts use of the content object. Even though the content file isavailable, the DRM prevents playback.

Referring initially to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of a content distributionsystem 100-1 is shown. This embodiment shows two content providers 108and two users 112, but it is to be understood that there may be anynumber of content providers 108 and users 112 in various embodiments.The user 112 could be the same person working with two computing devices124 in an upgrade process. For example, the user may have music or videoon the first computing device 124-1 and wish to move the music or videoto the second computing device 124-2 for use. A migration system 178 canhave various configurations to aid the move to the second computingdevice 124-2.

This embodiment shows two content originators 102, but there could beany number content originators. Content originators 102 may be contentsubscription and/or download services that have content they own or havethe right to license stored in a remote content store 156. A contentprovider 108 gives access to the content objects through a content website or application interface 116. Licenses granted to the contentobjects are stored in the remote license database 140. The remotelicense database 140 can be used to provide content licenses to the newcomputing device 124 in a migration situation. A migration system maypass the content licenses to the new content player 128, but couldverify their validity at the various remote license databases 140 forthe content objects of the user 112.

In this embodiment, the computing device 124 includes a content player128, a local content store 160, a local license database 136, andoptionally, a content transcoder 164. In various embodiments, the localcontent store 160 and local license database 136 could be coupled to thecontent player 128 using an integral and/or internal storage medium, anexternal storage medium and/or a networked storage medium. A user 112interacts with the computing devices 124 to play or realize the contentobjects resident in a local content store 160 and/or streamed from aremote content object store 156.

Users 112 often upgrade their software and/or hardware for variousreasons. During this process, copyright licenses can be lost due tocompatibility and integration problems in conventional systems. FIG. 1Ais simplified in that it shows only one local license database 136 foreach computing device 124, but often each DRM technique and/or playermaintains its own local license database 136 such that the computingdevice 124 may have many local license databases 136.

Local license databases 136 in computing devices 124 are often notcompatible with each other, even though the content object could be usedwith different content players. For example, Apple™ iTunes™ uses a DRMincompatible with that used by Microsoft™ Windows Media Player™ suchthat content licenses cannot be exchanged between the two even thoughthe players could play each-others content with the proper codecsupport.

This embodiment uses a content transcoder 164 and at least oneremotely-located license databases 152, 140 to migrate the contentobjects and content licenses to a new computing device 124. A securedcontent object (i.e., a content file or stream protected by DRM) may beused on another computing device 124, but the copyright license wouldnot follow the user 112 to the other computing device 124 inconventional systems. For example, a first music player may recognize acontent file and allow playing because the DRM recognizes a copyrightlicense, but a second music player may recognize the content filewithout being able to recognize a copyright license such that access isprevented.

One embodiment of the invention allows transport of a local licensedatabase 136 between various computing devices 124 that a user 112 mightuse. A software application, software applet or the content playeritself can pass all or some of the local license database 136 to aglobal license database 152 or a remote license database 140. Passing ofthe local license database 136 is done opaquely in some embodimentsusing encryption to protect the information. The copyright licenses onthe old computing device 124 are no longer usable once passed to theglobal license database 152 or a remote license database 140. The usercan authenticate their right to copyright licenses with the newcomputing device 124 and have the new local license database 136populated by opaquely passing the copyright licenses to the locallicense database 136 of the new computing device 124.

The migration system 178 may have to communicate with the variouscontent originators 102 associated with each content object. Further,the content licenses may be translated to a format for the DRM of thenew computing device 124. In some cases, the contents of the locallicense database 136 are not transferred, but an abbreviated listing ofthe licenses could be transferred. The content originator 102 may trackthe content licenses of each user and the migration system 178 couldupdate the content originators 102 as the migration takes place.

The content player 128 or another application passes the licenses inopaque form to the global license database 152, which acts as anintermediary between the old local license database 136-1 and a newlocal license database 136-2. The licenses may or may not be opaque tothe global license database 152. Where the license information is keptopaque, only the content player 128-2 of the new computing device 124-2understands how to decode and reactivate the licenses. Public or privatekeying can be used in various embodiments encrypt the content licensesduring transport.

Content transported to the new computing device 124-2 can then be playedafter any reformatting by a content transcoder 164. In this embodiment,the content transcoder is in the new computing device 124-2, but inother embodiments could be in the old computing device 124-1, thecontent originator 102, the migration system 178, or elsewhere. Aftersending the content licenses, content objects on the old computingdevice 124-1 cannot pass the DRM checks to allow playback on the oldcomputing device 124-1. The content objects on the old computing device124-1 could be deleted to further prevent unauthorized use. Someembodiments may allow paying a fee to allow both the old and newcomputing devices 124 to retain licenses to play the content objects.Such an arrangement can be offered by the content originators 102.

Where the global license database 152 is not opaque to the licenses, theglobal license database 152 can serve as a clearinghouse for the variouscomputing devices 124. An application on the computing device 124 couldopaquely send the local license database to the global license database152 where the licenses are converted to plaintext. A different contentplayer 128 using a different license format could request the contentlicenses from the global license database 152 after properauthentication of the licensee. The content licenses would be convertedto the native format of the different content player 128 and sentopaquely to the different content player 128. In this way, contentlicenses could be exchanged between incompatible content players 128.Some embodiments may confirm the licenses before movement by checkingwith the content originator 102 who originally granted the license tothe user 112.

In some cases, the new computing device 124 and/or content player 128may not understand the old format of the content object. A conversionapplication or content transcoder 164 could transcode the content objectto allow it to be compatible with the new computing device 124 and/orcontent player 128. The conversion application could be located anywherein the content distribution system 100, for example, at the contentprovider 108, the global license database 152 or the computing device124 (as in this embodiment).

Some embodiments could download the content object from the contentprovider 108 in the new format after destruction of the old contentobject and verification that the license is valid. There may or may notbe an additional charge for the download in the new format. Areplacement content license could be included along with the contentobject in the new format.

In one embodiment, the computing device 124-1 does not actuallytransport the licenses to the new computing device 124-2, but destroysthe licenses in the local license database 136-1 and merely reports thedestruction to the remote or global license database 140, 152. Oncedestroyed, a new computing device 124-2 can receive the content licensesin any format compatible with the computing device 124-2 and/or contentplayer 128-2. The contents of the local content database 136-1 mayalready be known to the remote or global license database 140, 152 suchthat only destruction need be communicated and those content licensesbecome available for the new content player 128-2.

One embodiment uses a removable storage media (e.g., magnetic disk,optical disk, flash media, hard drive, optically readable media) totransport the content licenses to the new local license database 136.The removable storage media can be loaded with the content licenses inan opaque form. The new computing device 124 could load the contentlicenses and destroy the ability to load the content licenses on anothercomputing device 124. For example, the content licenses could be erased.Another embodiment could require authentication from a remote trustedparty before reading the content licenses into the new local licensedatabase 136-2. The remote trusted party would only allow reading thecontent licenses on one or a set number of computing devices 124 asallowed by the license. The content objects could also be transportedwith the removable storage media.

Authentication of the licensee before loading the content licenses onthe new computing device 124 can be explicit or implicit. Where thelicense is to a person or group of persons, a password or biometricauthentication technique can be used. For implicit authentication, thecontent licenses are not tied to a particular user but tied topossession of a code or the removable storage media. For example,whoever enters a pass code or possesses the removable storage media withthe content licenses can load them onto the new computing device 124. Anauthenticating party can enforce the number of simultaneous users of thecontent licenses, such that if another tries to use the content licensesbeyond their terms, access could be denied. For example, if someonesteals the removable storage media, that person could use the contentlicenses unless they have already been loaded on the specified number ofcomputing devices 124 already.

With reference to FIG. 1B, this embodiment of the content distributionsystem 100-2 does not use a global license database 152. To enable thecontent objects on the new computing device 124, the copyright licensesare opaquely sent back to the content originator's 102 remote licensedatabase(s) 140. Alternatively, the licenses could be looked-up at thecontent originators 102 without actually sending the content licensesback. In some cases, the user 112 could have downloaded content objectsfrom a number of content providers 108 such that a number ofcorresponding remote license databases 140 would be used in migrating tothe new computing device 124.

The copyright licenses can be opaquely downloaded to the new computingdevice 124 from the remote license database(s) 140 after properauthentication of the user 112. Additionally, the content objects couldreformatted for the new content player using a content transcoder 164.Instead of transcoding, the content originator 102 may have the contentobjects previously encoded to the new format that are ready for loadingon the new computing device 124. The new computing device 124-2 also hasa content transcoder 164-2 available for transcoding the content filesfor the new format.

This embodiment includes an authentication engine 172 at the oldcomputing device 124. The authentication engine 172 could be integral tothe content player 128 or operating system. Once the user 112authenticates their identity, the license transfer is authorized. Thecontent objects could be transferred over the Internet 120 or some otherconnection. In this embodiment, the old computing device 124-1 is apersonal computer and the new computing device 124-2 is a handheldphone. The user 112 may connect the handheld phone to the personalcomputer with Bluetooth™ or a USB cable to transfer content objects andcontent licenses.

Referring next to FIG. 1C, a block diagram of another embodiment of acontent distribution system 100-3 is shown. This embodiment includes amigration system 178 that has a global license database 152, a contenttranscoder 164, an authentication engine 172, and a global content store168. The global license database 152 can be used to hold the contentlicenses when transferring them. Similarly, the content objects can bestored in the global content store 168 before loading onto the newcomputing device 124-2. Any reformatting of the content objects isperformed on the content transcoder 164. Authentication of the user andthe content licenses can be performed by the authentication engine 172.

With reference to FIG. 1D, a block diagram of yet another embodiment ofa content distribution system 100-4 is shown. In this embodiment, thecontent licenses can be stored in the global license database 152 in amanner that is accessible to any computing device 124. If the user 112authenticates their identity to the satisfaction of the computing device124 and/or global license database 152, the content player 128 willallow playback of a content object on the computing device 124. Thecontent licenses are not stored local to the computing device 124. Thecontent licenses are verified as needed before playing the contentobject.

Another embodiment allows storage of licenses in the global licensedatabase 152 in a way that allows individual licenses or a group oflicenses to be checked out to a computing device 124. Afterauthentication of the user 112, the content licenses corresponding tothe content requested for playback are checked out to allow use. Theuser 112 can manually check-in the licenses or the licenses couldautomatically be checked-in after a period of time unless checked outagain.

In this embodiment, the content originators 102 do not track whichlicenses are issued to users 112. The content originators 102 rely uponthe global license database 152. When content objects are licensed, thecontent licenses could be written to the global license database wherethey are accessible to the content providers 102 and computing devices124 on demand.

Referring next to FIG. 1E, a block diagram of still another embodimentof a content distribution system 100-5 is shown. In this embodiment, thecontent objects are not stored at the computing devices 124. Contentobjects are stored in a global content store 168. Upon properauthentication 172, a recipient 112 can realize content objects on anycomputing device 124 with any type of content player. The DRM is stillprovided by the computing device, but the licenses and content objectsare stored at the migration system 178 and/or the content providers 102.

The content player 128 can check out a content object and license asneeded from either the migration system 178 or the content originator102. The licenses and content objects can be checked back in or just setto expire after a period of time. The recipient 112 may be charged forthe ability to have transportability of content objects between a numberof computing devices. The number of computing devices that can be usedmay be limited. Some embodiments may prevent simultaneous use of thesame content object or may prevent use of the migration system by morethan one computing device at one time.

The number of times a content object is played could be tracked andreported to gage popularity. Some embodiments could insert commercialsinto the sequence of content objects. Impressions for those commercialscould also be reported.

With reference to FIG. 1F, a block diagram of one embodiment of acontent distribution system 100-6 is shown. In this embodiment, themigration system 178 is used during the transition to the new computingdevice 124. The content transcoding, storing of content licenses andauthentication is performed by the migration system 178. The user 112may pay for this service. In one embodiment, the seller or manufacturerof the new computing device 124 subsidizes or pays for this cost.

Referring next to FIG. 1G, a block diagram of another embodiment of acontent distribution system 100-7 is shown. In this embodiment, thecontent originator 102 can be used to authenticate the content licensesor be used to migrate the content objects to the new computing device124 without using the migration system 178. For example, the contentoriginator 102 could be used where available, but the migration system178 where the content originator 102 cannot be found or has no historyof the license. This might occur for content object delivered intangible form (e.g., on a disk or tape) where there was no electronicdelivery.

With reference to FIG. 2A, a flowchart of an embodiment of a process200-1 for migrating licensed content to a new content player 128-2 isshown. The process 200-1 can be largely automatic after the userinitiates the process in block 204. The user manually authenticatesherself also in block 204. Authentication may include entry of licensecodes and/or login information. The authentication information may beentered through either the old or new computing devices 124. The newplayer is manually identified in step 208. The content objects aretransferred to the new computing device automatically in block 212. Someembodiments move the content objects directly from one local contentstore 160 to another, but other embodiments use a remote or globalcontent store 156, 168 as a waypoint between the old and new localcontent stores 160.

In block 216, any transcoding or exchange of the content objects isperformed. Some embodiments transcoder the content objects, while othersget another copy of the content object that is already coded properly.Transcoding can be performed at either computing device 124, themigration system 178 or the content originators 102 in variousembodiments. Also in block 216, the content objects are loaded on thetarget computing device 124-2.

This embodiment allows the user to upgrade his or her licenses to thecontent objects as determined in block 218. Upgrading licenses couldinvolve a number of content originators 102 and could be managed by themigration system 178. There could be an option to upgrade to a twocomputing device 124 license allowing the content objects tosimultaneously exist on the two computing devices 124. Another optioncould allow more computing devices 124 or even an unlimited number ofcomputing devices 124. Where there is an upgraded license, processingskips over blocks 220 and 224 to step 228.

Where there is no upgrade of licenses, processing goes from block 218 toblock 220 where the content licenses are uploaded to the migrationsystem 178 opaquely to avoid interception or decoding. Encryption can beused in this process. The migration system 178 may or may not be able todecode the content licenses before they are passed along. Somewhere, thecontent licenses are reformatted for the new content player 128-2 andDRM. In block 224, the content licenses and content objects on the oldcomputing device 124-1 are disabled or destroyed.

In block 228, the content licenses are sent and loaded onto the newcomputing device. The transport can once again be opaque to avoidinterception. At this point in the process 200-1, the content files andlicenses are recoded and on the new computing device 124-2 such thatthey are available for use with full DRM support of the new contentplayer 128-2. This process may be repeated for new content players asthe need arises such that a user can avoid wholesale repurchase oflicenses in this embodiment.

Referring next to FIG. 2B, a flowchart of another embodiment of aprocess 200-2 for migrating licensed content to a new content player128-2 is shown. This embodiment replaces blocks 218 and 220 with newblock 222. After the content objects are loaded, the content licenses oran indicator thereof is send to the migration system 178. An indicatorcould simply be an account identifier for a content originator 102. Themigration system 178 could go to the content originator 102 to get allthe content licenses associated with the account that is identified.This embodiment does not allow upgrading the content license andperforms block 224 in every case before completing blocks 228 and 232 asin the embodiment of FIG. 2A.

With reference to FIG. 2C, a flowchart of yet another embodiment of aprocess 200-3 for migrating licensed content to a new content player128-2 is shown. This embodiment differs from that of FIG. 2B in thatblocks 212 and 216 are replaced by blocks 214 and 215. In block 214, thecontent objects are identified to the migration system 178. New versionsof these content objects are obtained in block 215 and loaded onto thenew computing device 124 rather than performing any transcoding.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosed embodimentscan also be used. For example, the above embodiments discuss using thelicense exchange for audio and video, but other embodiments are not tobe limited in that way. Any content object that has DRM could beexchanged to a new program that has different DRM. For example, softwareor data could benefit from embodiments.

Specific details are given in the above description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it is understoodthat the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not toobscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances,well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniquesmay be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring theembodiments.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed, but could have additional steps not includedin the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the functionto the calling function or the main function.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels,and/or various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages, and/or any combination thereof. When implementedin software, firmware, middleware, scripting language, and/or microcode,the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may bestored in a machine readable medium such as a storage medium. A codesegment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions,data structures, and/or program statements. A code segment may becoupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters, and/or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

Implementation of the techniques described above may be done in variousways. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, theprocessing units may be implemented within one or more applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs),digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described above, and/or a combination thereof.

For a software implementation, the techniques, processes and functionsdescribed herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures,functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. Thesoftware codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors.The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external tothe processor, in which case the memory unit can be communicativelycoupled to the processor using various known techniques.

While the principles of the disclosure have been described above inconnection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearlyunderstood that this description is made only by way of example and notas limitation on the scope of the disclosure.

1. (canceled)
 2. A content distribution system that distributes contentobjects that are usable within confines of digital rights management(DRM), the content distribution system comprising: a first contentrepository that stores a first plurality of content objects; and a firstlicense repository that stores and maintains a first plurality ofcontent licenses, wherein the first content repository provides thefirst plurality of content objects to a first content player thatimplements the DRM, the first license repository provides the firstplurality of content licenses to the first content player, and the firstplurality of content licenses enable use of the first plurality ofcontent objects with the first content player within confines of theDRM; a second content repository that stores a second plurality ofcontent objects; and a second license repository that stores andmaintains a second plurality of content licenses, wherein the secondcontent repository provides the second plurality of content objects to asecond content player that implements the DRM, the second licenserepository provides the second plurality of content licenses to thesecond content player, the second plurality of content licenses enableuse of the second plurality of content objects with the second contentplayer within confines of the DRM, the second content player is separatefrom the first content player, each of the first and second pluralitiesof content objects are separate files from the first and secondpluralities of content licenses, and the DRM does not allow the firstplurality of content objects associated with the first content player tobe played by the second content player while the first plurality ofcontent licenses exists on the first content player; and a migrationserver that includes at least an authentication engine and a licenserepository, wherein: the migration server is separate from the first andsecond content players, the migration server issues the second pluralityof content licenses to the second license repository, each contentlicense of the second plurality of content licenses being associatedwith a license of the first plurality of content licenses, and theauthentication engine authorizes the second plurality of contentlicenses of the second license repository.
 3. The content distributionsystem that distributes content objects that are usable within confinesof DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein: the first plurality of contentlicenses comply with a first DRM technique, the second plurality ofcontent licenses comply with a second DRM technique, and the first DRMtechnique is different from the second DRM technique.
 4. The contentdistribution system that distributes content objects that are usablewithin confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein one or moreoriginators of the first plurality of content objects provide the secondplurality of content licenses to the second license repository.
 5. Thecontent distribution system that distributes content objects that areusable within confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein the secondplurality of content licenses: identifies the second plurality ofcontent objects, and specifies a scope of the licenses for the secondplurality of content objects.
 6. The content distribution system thatdistributes content objects that are usable within confines of DRM asrecited in claim 2, wherein the migration server provides the secondplurality of content licenses to the second license repository.
 7. Thecontent distribution system that distributes content objects that areusable within confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein: the firstplurality of content objects are encoded in a first codec, the secondplurality of content objects are encoded in a second codec, and thefirst codec is different from the second codec.
 8. The contentdistribution system that distributes content objects that are usablewithin confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, further comprising acontent transcoder for converting format of the first plurality ofcontent objects to form the second plurality of content objects.
 9. Thecontent distribution system that distributes content objects that areusable within confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein the secondlicense repository is geographically distant from the second contentplayer.
 10. The content distribution system that distributes contentobjects that are usable within confines of DRM as recited in claim 2,wherein the second license repository is collocated with the secondcontent player.
 11. The content distribution system that distributescontent objects that are usable within confines of DRM as recited inclaim 2, wherein when the second content repository provides the secondplurality of content licenses to the second content player, themigration server deactivates corresponding ones of the first pluralityof content licenses, to prevent simultaneous use of the second pluralityof content objects on the first and the second content players.
 12. Thecontent distribution system that distributes content objects that areusable within confines of DRM as recited in claim 2, wherein themigration server allows both the first plurality of content licenses andthe second plurality of content licenses to co-exist, but not to be inuse concurrently.
 13. A machine-implementable method for issuing contentlicenses that are compatible with a DRM technique, comprising: accessinga first plurality of content licenses from a first repository of a firstcontent player, wherein: the first content player is associated with theDRM technique, the first plurality of content licenses are maintained bythe DRM technique, the first plurality of content licenses enable use ofa plurality of content objects within confines of the DRM technique onthe first content player, the content objects are separate files fromthe first plurality of content licenses, and the first plurality ofcontent licenses are associated with a plurality of licensors; issuing asecond plurality of content licenses, wherein: each license of thesecond plurality of content licenses is associated with a license of thefirst plurality of content licenses, the second plurality of contentlicenses is compatible with the DRM technique on a second contentplayer, and the confines of the DRM technique do not authorize the firstplurality of content licenses while the content objects are on thesecond content player; sending the second plurality of content licensesto a store, wherein: the store is physically remote to the firstrepository, and the store retains the second plurality of contentlicenses; sending authentication information of a licensee of the secondplurality of content licenses; and writing the second plurality ofcontent licenses to a second repository of the second content player,wherein the second content player can use the plurality of contentobjects within the confines of the DRM technique.
 14. Themachine-implementable method for issuing content licenses that arecompatible with a DRM technique as recited in claim 13, furthercomprising encrypting the second plurality of content licenses beforesending the second plurality of content licenses to the store.
 15. Themachine-implementable method for issuing content licenses that arecompatible with a DRM technique as recited in claim 13, furthercomprising transcoding the plurality of content objects to a formatcompatible with the second content player.
 16. The machine-implementablemethod for issuing content licenses that are compatible with a DRMtechnique as recited in claim 13, further comprising authenticating anidentity of a user of the second content player.
 17. Themachine-implementable method for issuing content licenses that arecompatible with a DRM technique as recited in claim 13, wherein: thefirst plurality of content licenses comply with a first DRM techniquefor the first content player, the second plurality of content licensescomply with a second DRM technique for the second content player, andthe first DRM technique is different from the second DRM technique. 18.The machine-implementable method for issuing content licenses that arecompatible with a DRM technique as recited in claim 13, wherein theplurality of content licenses: identifies the plurality of contentobjects, and specifies a scope of a license for the plurality of contentobjects.
 19. A software product comprising instructions stored onnon-transitory, computer-readable storage media, wherein theinstructions, when executed by one or more processors, perform steps ofthe machine-implementable method for issuing content licenses that arecompatible with a DRM technique, as recited in claim
 13. 20. A systemcomprising one or more processors adapted to execute the softwareproduct as recited in claim
 19. 21. The machine-implementable method forissuing content licenses that are compatible with a DRM technique asrecited in claim 13, further comprising allowing the first plurality ofcontent licenses to exist on the first content player and the secondplurality of content licenses to simultaneously exist on the secondcontent player.